Reinventing You by Dorie Clark

“Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future” by Dorie Clark is worth a read for its useful nuggets of advice and for the perspective she spent years developing and refining. Many of us in the baby boom generation need to be reinventing ourselves to deal with a changing retirement picture and the related need to work long into retirement, both for our economic viability and for social enrichment. Read her book for an insightful perspective that can be useful not only to boomers.

I met Clark at a political workshop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa a few years ago, and found her personal anecdotes about fundraising to be useful and spot on. She was not afraid to tell us to do the hard work, and if one followed her advice, superior results could be attained. I felt similarly when she wrote in “Reinventing You” about the 360 interview, something that in some businesses has become a stale and mechanical process driven by professional human resource managers. She breathed new life into this long-standing process. While what Clark proposes is often hard work, based on my past experience with her advice, I would be willing to try it and hopeful for positive results after reading “Reinventing You.”

Some of what Clark writes is time-tested advice on things like highlighting our differences for competitive advantage and the role of volunteerism during transition. She adds a layer regarding social media which is important to consider. There was plenty of sound new advice in the book on topics that were already familiar.

I found the book engaging and a quick read, offering pragmatic advice as I transition into what’s next. You might too.